And belated devices



3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

J. ,H. NOLAN.

FIRE PROOF CHEST.

Patented Dec. 12, 1882.

INVENTEI R rgggmzs. Pnm-mwmwr. Washington a. c. l "q. l

AND RELATED DEVlCES.

-r f r v? (No Model.) 1 3 Sheets-Sheet 3. J. H. NOLAN.

FIRE PROOF CHEST.

No. 268,819. 7 Patented Dec. 12, 1882;

allo armies DEVECES.

UNITED STATEs JOHN H. NOLAN, or BOSTON, MASS,

PATENT OFFICE.

ASSIGNOR, BY lllESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

FIRE-PROOF CHEST.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 268,8f9, dated December12,1882.

. Application filed March 21, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that'I, JOHN H. NOLAN, of thecity of Boston,in the county of Suffolk and Stateof'Massachusetts, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Fire-Proof Chests or Boxes, ofwhich the following is a full, clear,

. and exact description, reference being bad to the accompanyingdrawings, in which like letters indicate corresponding parts.

Figurel is a perspective view of the box with cover lifted. Fig.2represents a crosssection of the boxmidway of its width, at pointindicated by p,in which the top plate, E, and bottom plate, A, areshown. It also represen ts the general arrangement of the sheets ofincombustible fire-proof material overlaid with the carbonizablematerial-,as usually constructed byme. Fig. file a corner section of themetal plates and tire-proof material enlarged. Fig. 4 is a side and endelevation of a sheet of thecarbonizable material, showi-n g the generalmanneriof its use in overlapping the non-combustible tire-proof materialshown in Fig. 5. I Fig. 5 representsthe fire-proof material, which isformed in layers or sheets, and which is placed inside'the .carbonizablematerial, as shownin Fig. 4. i Fig. 6 represents a sheet of themetal ascut out preparatory to being folded and lapped togetherto form the coverto the box. Fig. 7 represents themanner of folding the sheetsforthe'cover and the device employed to secure the folded laps at thecorners. Fig. '8 represents a section of the box and cover,in.which areshown a modified formof securing-the metalplateswhen heavy material isuse.d,-also the'mode. of securin g thefire-proof lining by the use ofmetallic flanges or angleirons sustained in place by bolts orappropriate rsecuriing devices. v v

The object of my inventionis to furnish a substan' tial fire-proof boxor chest for the holding-of papers andother "valuables,made frommetalrplates fastened andconnected in a new and improved manner, andcombined with a liningofindestructible fiber incased in carbonizablefiber, making alight, strong, and convenient lire-proof box or chest,and which can be made at a much lesscost for material and labor than theordinary boxes or chests used for a similar purpose.

This invention is intimately connected with my former inventions uponanalogous subjects, particularly to my improvement in fireproof materialfor which my application for Letters Patent of the United States wasfiled zl ebruary 23, 1882. The fire-proof material' -..therein describedI intend to use in this improved box which forms the subject of thispresent invention. Of course a lining could be used other than the onedescribed in my ap-' plication just referred to. Forinstan co, thefireproof lining described in the Fowler magnesocalcite patent, or othersimilar non heat-conducting fire-proof lining, could be used.

By reference to Fig. 1, A is the box; A, the front sheet; A the endsheet. E is the cover; I), a rim which sets over the top edge, e, of thebox and rests upon the molding b. The metal plates of the box are turnedin at rightangles at the top edge to give additional strength, preventwarping, and to protect the fire-proof .lining. This turned or foldedupper edge or top is shown by c c, and is an important part of mypresent invention. Theedge ofthe cover b, which sets over the box at 0,also tends to prevent the warping and twisting of the ends or sides bythe heat, and the molding or bead sets over. Where light plates are usedthis form is quite important. The edges or corners of the sheet Ecomposing the cover-top are held together by the small pieces d d, whichare slipped into slots left for the purpose and fastened in place byrivets, (represented byX X.) The part aof the cover is fastened to thetop. by rivets and'cement or other suitable means, and when the lid isclosed fits closely inside the top of the chest, (represented by a.)

'By referring to Fig. 6 a sheet of the metal will'be seen, in which E isthe sheet itself. b b b are edge flaps, which lap over and form thejoints and edge of the cover, as shown in b*, Fig. 1. d is a piece whichcomes out from the waste metal. The plate is cut into the form shown inFig. 6, and after the plate E is folded, as shown in Fig. 7, the partsor flaps b b b take the position as therein shown, and the holes orslits (represented by d in Fig. 6) come togetherin the corner of theplate, and the piece d is hen-t to an angle of forty-five degrees andslipped into the hole or slit (1 as shown in Fig. 7.

upon which the top rests protects the top as it The dotted lines in Fig.7 indicate the way the box-cover is constructed and the manner ofintroducing the corner-stays d, as already described. The piece d issecured'i'n its place by a bolt or rivet,X. (Shown alsointhe cover ofthe box, Fig. 1, X.)

The box proper is formed'of five plates of metal-A A the sides, A A theends, and A the bottom plate. The side and end plates to are united atthe corners bylap-joints, and thebottom sheet, A, being folded in itsedges, is also lap-jointed to the side and end sheets, as shown at Fig.2. In order tosqnare out the corner upon the outside, the corner-piece0, Fig. 3, is soldered or riveted on. This also finishes the box andmakes the symmetricallyformed panels, as shown in Fig. 1. The box andcover-plates are further strengthened by a small angle-iron placed inthe corner of the edge of the plates, Fig. 1, b b c c, and this iron orbrace is held in place by rivets or bolts X X X X. One of the smallangle-irons is shown in each corner edge of the cover, and indicated;by.d:d. When heavier plates of metal ai'e'used in constructing the box,the

'warpin g or twisting can be prevented by placing braces or ironsinside,near the top, extending all around thebox, and which will be understoodby reference to'Fig. 8, hereinafter more particularly explained.

In Fig. 8 I show a section of a moditieclconstrnctiou of the cover andbox in which the angle-irons e e e e are represented, and which are soconnected with the outside metal plates 3 5 as to make a. verystrongand' substantial box,

, .but still of exceedingly light weight. The outside frame-plates ofthe box are bolted to the inside-work, as shown'in Fig. 8. The bolts orlarge rivets are represented by mm. The space o allowed'for expansion isalso shown, and is in- (limited by h h... The angle-irons or metallicflanges e e e 6 protect the ends of the combinedfire-pioof material F D.A metal piece, 7c, Fig. 8, is placed .beneath the edge of the 5cover-plate E, and which also extends under the edge of angle-iron e eandtends to support it. The piece. It is secured to plate E by belt orrivet n, spacebeing left for expansion, as

already described.

so The front of a the plate to the box is represented by A. upon the topof which rests the cover-plate E. This construction is used with heavyplates and when the cover to the box does not overlap, as shown in Fig.1, but sim- V ply rests on the top of the box, as shown in the section,Fig. 8.

, The form of the non-carbonizable or tire-proof material is shown inFig. 5. It will be seen that it is made to conform to the shape of theon metal plates out of which the box is constructed, the holes or slitsd being made in such a position that in folding, when placed between thesheets of the carbonizahle fiber, a tight joint will be formed withoutcreasing or overlapping, and the sheets of carbonizahle fiber thusinclosing the non-carbonizable fire-proof 7 material thus nicely fitinside the outside metal plates.

The manner of wrapping the carbonizable fiber about the non-carbonizablefire-proof material is shown in Fig.4, and the position of both as laidin the metal sheets of the box is fully shown in, the sections, Figs. 2,3, and 8,

% cal construction of the top edge of the box and lot the cover tocorrespond withwthe varying thickness of metal plates used.

In either case the box can he made safe, strong, and light, of elegantappearance, and at u very moderate cost.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent-of the'United States, is-

1. In a fire-proof box,,.the plat-es A .A -A united by lap-joints,andthe plate E, 1'nrming the cover E, combined with sheets of fire-proofmaterial D F, substantially as and for the purposes set forth. p

2. A fire-proof box formed of platesA A A, with bead b, a cover, Ehaving an overlapping edge formed of the plate E, with laps b b andopenings or slits d", tolded, joined, and secured at the corners of theplate by the pieces d d andvthe rivetsX X, alt. combined with afire-proof lining, as and for the purposes set .forth. Y

3. In a fire-proof'box, the plates A A, with top edges, 00, formed bythe folding or'lapping of the upper edge of the plates, the bead b, andcorner-pieceso 0, all combined substantially as and for thepurposesset-forth.v

4. In a fire-proof box, a cover formed of the metal plate E, arranged bydoubling the edge of the, metal sheet by foldsbb to. make theoverlapping edge b and secured in position by the insertion of bentpieces 01' d. and the rivets X X, all substantially as and for thepurposes specified.

JOHN H. NOLAN. Witnesses:

F. F. RAYMOND, 2d, Bownom S. PARKER.

IIC

